Anthropology, fiction and imagination: Rabindranath Thakur's "Letter From a Wife"

The discipline of anthropology has been influenced by several different theoretical paradigms throughout its history. These different paradigms have caused a variation in the acceptable forms of ethnographic writing. Recently, anthropologists have explored the possibility of the theories and goals of ethnographies and fiction as being inextricably intertwined. By tracing this theoretical development, I will outline the theoretical connections between ethnographic writing and fiction texts. Then I will confirm the importance of examining fiction texts, specifically texts written by indigenous authors, for cultural content. Additionally, I will demonstrate how both anthropologists and writers use evidential experiences to create a personal and intimate reaction between the story and the reader. Finally, by using a key informant to analyze a short story by Rabindranath Thakur, I will demonstrate the value of evidential experiences as a method that can be used by anthropologists for cultural understanding/learning.